A NEW EU study has found that 40% of working people in Ireland aged between 25 and 34 still live with their parents.

The figures come from Eurofound, which is the EU Agency for the improvement of living and working conditions.

The report’s authors remarked that the figures show that “employment alone is not a sure-fire way to gain independence” given Europe’s housing crisis.

The latest available EU data on young people living with their parents comes from the 2022 European Union Statistics on Income and Living.

The 40% figure captured in 2022 is a stark increase on 2017 figures, when 27% of Irish people aged 25-34 and in employment were living with their parents.

Eurofound points to the doubling of rents since 2013 as one of the main drivers behind this 13% increase, the largest across the EU.

Other countries also reported increases between 2017 and 2022, but none so stark as in Ireland.

In Portugal, the proportion rose from 41% to 52%, and in Spain from 35% to 42%.

In France, it rose from 10% to 12%, while Italy recorded a rise from 41% to 48% and Croatia from 58% to 65%.

According to the 2022 data, Croatia has the highest number of 25 to 34-year-olds living with their parents, at 65%, followed by Greece at 52%, and Portugal on 52%.

2022 figures for proportion of working people between 25-34 living with their parents Eurofound Eurofound

However, the report’s authors noted “striking differences” between EU member states, particularly Nordic countries.

In Finland and Sweden, just 2% of working people aged 25-34 live with their parents, while this figure is 4% in Denmark.

The report’s authors also noted that it is more common for people in their 20s and 30s to live with their parents in southern Europe.

They say this is partly cultural but can also be attributed to the labour market precarity of temporary workers in southern Europe, where young people are more likely to be in temporary employment.

Meanwhile, the report found that young people living in Ireland were most likely to indicate that if circumstances were ideal, they would move.

2023 figures of young people across the EU planning to or who would like to move Eurofound Eurofound

A 2023 EU survey found that 35% of young Irish people are planning to leave within three years, while a further 26% would like to leave within three years.